Saturday, June 6, 2009

Katherine Gorge and Douglas Hot Springs

Katherine Gorge and Douglas Hot Springs - 4th June – 6th June

Northern Territory - Woo Hoo!
Northern Territory Australia
From Katherine & Douglas Hot Springs

The drive from Kununurra to Katherine was looong and not really much fun. Frank had told us to stop at Victoria River and look for Saltwater Crocs from the bridge. We did so but had no luck. We both really want to see a ‘Salty’ but from a safe distance!
In Katherine we stocked up on fuel and headed off to the campground at Katherine Gorge. We arrived whilst the sun was setting and virtually did everything after dark (not much fun – the pool there looked nice and a dip would have been great. We are relaxing now… right?)

Katherine Gorge
Katherine Gorge Northern Territory Australia
From Katherine & Douglas Hot Springs

In the morning we went for a walk to a lookout over the river. We suddenly felt ‘Gorged out’. No disrespect to Katherine but I think we have just seen too many lately. We shopped for a few supplies and headed out of town for a place Heidi really wanted to visit – Douglas Hot Springs. She had read about this place a while ago and now was the chance to get there. We arrived with plenty of daylight left and found a shady spot for the car and grabbed our swimmers. Off to the springs we went.
We stepped into the water not knowing what to expect and were greeted with a luke-warm flow of water. The further we went from this flow the cooler it got… Cool we thought. There were a large number of people sat upstream in a deeper area and we felt we would be intruding to sit there so we found a log a way down in the cooler section – it was a very hot day after all!

Douglas Hot Springs
Douglas Hot Springs Northern Territory Australia
From Katherine & Douglas Hot Springs

As the pile of people upstream thinned we ventured further up – primarily to take some pictures of this very nice place. Heidi went one way and I walked straight up stream towards the group of people (with the intention of walking by)
As I got closer the water became a little warmer (as I had expected.. I mean this is why they are sat here right?) It was not until one of the guys there said to me “the further you go the hotter it gets” that I really appreciated the “Hot” in Douglas Hot Springs. As I walked through the group I was like ‘Ouch’ - wow this was real hot, like a bath you can’t quite get into. Heidi had stopped taking her pics and I beckoned her up the stream telling her I had just found ‘the hot’. As she walked up the stream she said “woo it’s nice and warm here” until she got to me… then she danced a little saying “ooo ooo ouch” and then jumped up on the sand next to me. “Told you it was hot” I said. What an amazing thing we thought – Hot water straight from the ground.
We had a nice evening chatting and then went off to bed. Litchfield NP was our destination tomorrow and all the expectation that comes with such a well known park.

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